Greats and goats: Seahawks nip Buccaneers

November 3, 2013 7:43 PM

Photo: Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

Image 1of/8

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 8

Greats and goats: Seahawks nip Buccaneers
The Seattle Seahawks took down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-24 in overtime Sunday, setting a new franchise record with a 21-point comeback.
While the win took the team to 8-1 for the season and kept Seattle on top of the NFC, it continued a worrying trend of lackluster efforts against supposedly inferior teams.
So who was most responsible for the Hawks' comeback? And who takes the blame for the poor start that nearly cost them the game? Click through the gallery, then vote below for your "great" and your "goat" of the Seahawks' epic comeback. less

Greats and goats: Seahawks nip Buccaneers The Seattle Seahawks took down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-24 in overtime Sunday, setting a new franchise record with a 21-point comeback. While the win took the team ... more

Great: Marshawn Lynch
After one half of play against the Buccaneers, it seemed the same as the previous week. Marshawn Lynch had just six carries for 49 yards and the Seahawks offense looked lost. But in the fourth quarter, when it truly mattered, Seattle went back to Lynch and the Skittles-lover wound up with 125 yards rushing on 21 carries, tacking on four catches for another 16 yards.
What Lynch showed at the end was a physicality and toughness that has been a trademark of this Seahawks offense. When it mattered most, the Hawks put the load on Lynch’s back and let him win the game. They’re best offensively when they rely on Beast Mode. less

Great: Marshawn Lynch After one half of play against the Buccaneers, it seemed the same as the previous week. Marshawn Lynch had just six carries for 49 yards and the Seahawks offense looked lost. But in the ... more

Photo: Stephen Brashear, Associated Press

Great: Marshawn Lynch
After one half of play against the... Photo-5412124.73342 - seattlepi.com

Image 3 of 8

Great: Wide receiver Doug Baldwin
Doug Baldwin had one of his most prolific receiving game of the season, catching six passes for 75 yards and a touchdown. Despite a few drops early in the contest, Baldwin made two huge plays for the Seahawks that gave them an opportunity to win.
First, in the middle of the second quarter, quarterback Russell Wilson got flushed out of the pocket and hit Baldwin deep down the left sideline. Baldwin managed to keep his feet in bounds on the clutch play, which led to a touchdown when Wilson kept the ball and cut Seattle’s deficit from 17 to 10.
Then, with less than two minutes to play in regulation, Baldwin caught the game-tying touchdown, pulling in a Wilson pass inside the 10, spinning around a tackle and waltzing into the end zone. Usually more of a “security blanket” receiver than a big-time playmaker, Baldwin made a huge effort to get the Hawks back in the game. And it paid off. less

Great: Wide receiver Doug Baldwin Doug Baldwin had one of his most prolific receiving game of the season, catching six passes for 75 yards and a touchdown. Despite a few drops early in the contest, Baldwin ... more

Great: Wide receiver Golden Tate
Golden Tate didn’t do much against the Bucs on offense; he had just three catches for 29 yards. Tate’s biggest contribution came on special teams, and it was huge. With a minute left in the third quarter and his team down by 10, he took a punt inside his own 5-yard line and returned it 71 yards down to the Tampa 35.
That set up a Steven Hauschka field goal that cut Tampa’s lead to just seven at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The long punt return got the crowd back in the game, and more importantly put momentum back on Seattle’s sideline. And they rode it all the way through overtime to the win. less

Great: Wide receiver Golden Tate Golden Tate didn’t do much against the Bucs on offense; he had just three catches for 29 yards. Tate’s biggest contribution came on special teams, and it was huge. With a ... more

Goat: Seattle's front four
Entering last week’s game against the Rams, the Seahawks’ rushing defense was among the best in the league, allowing around 91 yards per game on the ground. The last two weeks, they’ve given up more than 200 rushing yards to teams starting rookie backs.
Similarly, the pass-rush was lacking for long stretches of Sunday’s game. Seattle recorded one sack early — in Tampa Bay’s first drive — and another late, when Seattle had all the momentum and could pin their ears back. Yet in the heart of the game, when the Bucs were dominating, Seattle’s front four didn’t deliver much push or pass-rush at all.
The front four isn’t a bad unit, and we know that, but the Hawks’ defensive line will have to stiffen up with running backs like Adrian Peterson and Frank Gore still ahead on the schedule. less

Goat: Seattle's front four Entering last week’s game against the Rams, the Seahawks’ rushing defense was among the best in the league, allowing around 91 yards per game on the ground. The last two weeks, ... more

Goat: Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell
The offensive play-calling for the Seahawks lately has been suspect at best. Until Lynch got six carries on eight plays in the overtime period Sunday, his playing time had been far below average these past two weeks. And it all came to a head in the fourth quarter Sunday, when the Hawks were still down by seven points.
On first-and-goal from the Tampa 3, instead of “feeding the Beast” Bevell elected for Wilson to throw a quick pass to Baldwin into the end zone – a quick pass that was picked off by Buccaneers cornerback Keith Tandy. Why do the Seahawks consistently throw it at the goal line when they have Marshawn Lynch? less

Goat: Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell The offensive play-calling for the Seahawks lately has been suspect at best. Until Lynch got six carries on eight plays in the overtime period Sunday, his playing ... more

Goat: Head coach Pete Carroll
One thing many people might forget about professional sports is the astronomical talent of every player on the field – and preparation is critical to getting an edge over the other talent. It appears, however, that Seattle’s preparedness has recently fallen short of what is needed in the NFL. The responsibility falls on head coach Pete Carroll and the rest of his staff to have the Seahawks up to speed.
The Seahawks have played nine games this season and started in six of them flat (the three “good” starts were versus Jacksonville, at Indianapolis and at Arizona). Coming off last Monday’s should-have-been-a-loss victory in St. Louis, the run defense needed to improve, but it didn’t. The offensive line needed to improve, and while it didn’t make many glaring mistakes, it didn’t look amazing either.
If the Seahawks keep starting like this and keep lagging in their adjustments from previous games, the playoffs will be a severe challenge. And they will have a much harder time overcoming poor starts in the playoffs. less

Goat: Head coach Pete Carroll One thing many people might forget about professional sports is the astronomical talent of every player on the field – and preparation is critical to getting an edge over the ... more